A Vancouver chemical fire in a shipping container prompted health officials to warn people to stay indoors Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
Sections of Vancouver's port were evacuated Wednesday afternoon and nearby streets were also shut down.
The city's fire department says at least eight fire trucks and more than two dozen firefighters responded to the fire on the busy downtown waterfront.
Vancouver Coastal Health spokesman Gavin Wilson says smoke from the blaze was drifting up Burrard Inlet. The health authority says the fire involved a substance called trichloroisocyanuric acid, which can be harmful if inhaled in large quantities.
Wilson says hospitals have been put on standby to receive people affected by the smoke. By late afternoon there were no reported injuries.
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